Nut-cracking machine



Jan. 29 1924. 1,482,018

C. S. LEONARD NUT CRACKING MACHINE Filed Nov. 13. 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 194 02 w. 101 7 79 c) A. 1 81 8 02 54 73 a;

IN VEN TOR M5. Eammd/ Patented Jan. 29, 1924.

, UNITED STATES rn xrlarrr OFFICE..."

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' nu'r-cancxme mom Application filed November 13, 1922. Serial ll'o.600,700.

This invention relates to nut cracking machines and has as one of itsobjects to produce a ower driven apparatus capable of automat1cally andcontinuously cracking 20 nuts, irrespective of their lengths, withoutbreakin or damaging the kernels enclosed in the s ells.

Another purpose 'is'to provide an apparatus in which the nuts areconsecutively brought into position to receive the impact of-twoplungers, acting respectively as anvil and ram or hammer, the latterbeing uniformly reciprocated and the anvil'element automaticallyactuated in conformity with the individual nut to be operated upon.

A further aim is-in the provision of interchangeable heads,suited to thearticular kind of nuts to be cracked, which, in connection with meansfor shifting the support laterally in accordance with the length of thenut, render the apparatus substantiall universal in its applications.

These and other important aims, objects 'and purposes, such assimplicity of parts, ease and rapidity of operation, non-liability ofdisarrangement or failure to operate and low cost of construction, areattained by the novel design, construction and arrangement of parts,hereinafter described in detail and shown in' the drawings supplementaryto this specification, and in which Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectionalview taken in a vertical lane substantially at the center" of a machineembodying the invention.

Figure 2 is a bottom plan view of the machine.

Figure 3 is a transverse vertical sectional view taken on line 3-3 ofFigure 5.

Figured: is a similar sectional view'taken on line 4-4 of Figure 5.

Figure 5 is a top plan view of the same.

' While the shape of the frame is immate-- rial, the present embodimentis illustrated as consisting of an essentially oblong rectangular hollowcasting, generally designated by the numeral 15, having a circumambientoutwardly extending base flange 16 provided with openings for thereception of screws used in fastening the structure upon a bench orplatform by which the operating parts are raised to a convenient height.

Extending in from the rear wall of the frame are a pair of spaced lugs17 raised from the base and registering with their.

inner ends are bosses 18 formed with the left hand end wall, these lugsand ,bo'sses being bored to receive a driving shaft 19 hav ing on itsouter extending end a drive wheel Fixed to the shaft, by a key, betweenthe lu 17 is a worm 21, provided with antifrlction thrust bearings atits ends if desired, and meshing with a worm wheel 22 rigid on a shorttransverse shaft 23 journalled at its ends in bearings 24 formed withthe front and rear walls respectively of the game above the planeof thedriving shaft Rigidly engaged on shaft 23 is a peripheral cam 25 locatedcentrally between the front and rear walls of the frame and having asingle throw or rise the purpose of which will be later described.

Alsofixed to shaft 23 is a s ur gear 26 meshing with an idle pinion 27eely rotatable on a stud 28 fixed in the rear wall, the pinion meshingwith and driving a gear 29 fixed on another transverse shaft 30, nearthe right hand end of the machine and in the same plane as the shaft 23and stud 28, the gears 26 and 29 being alike.

Said shaft 30 is rotatably mounted in bearings 31 formed in the oppositeside walls of the frame and has rigidly secured upon it anotherperipheral cam 32 having a single throw, the face of the cam makingoperative contact with a roller 33, revoluble on a stud 34, extendinglaterally from the end of an angularly bent lever 35.

The main portion of said lever is provided with a hub 36 drilled to suita fulcrum spindle 37 fixed in the side walls of the frame and the leveris raised to maintain the roller against the cam by a coiled tensionspring 39 extending between eyes fixed respectively in the lever arm anda fixed part of the frame projecting thereover.

A gear se cut 40 is integrally formed with the en of the lever 35opposite the fulcrum, the same functioning for apurpose further onapparent.

The central upper portion of the main frame is depresse as at 41, andmounted v on the level surface of. the depression is a bracket 42 havinga pair of raised pr0]ections 43 and 44 containing between them a' space45. l

Revolubly mounted in' the upper portions of these pro ections is apindle 46 containing a key 47 used to engage a notched carier 48slida'ble on the spindle, a coiled compression spring. 49 encirclin thes lndle and key between the carrier. ub an projection 44 through whichthe spindle extends, the other ro'ection 43, registering with the lefthand e ge of the base'of the .bracket 42, and having a narrow recess. 50

extending down from its top to the spindle.

Pinned to the extending end ofthe spindle 46, beyond the projection 44,is a gear 51 having helical teeth meshing with a mat ng gear 52 fixed onthe upper end of a vertical s indle 53, passing through the frameportion 41 and journalled in a depending boss 54.

Fixed on the lower end of spindle 53 is a bevel pinion 55 meshing with amating p inion 56 otatable on a stud 57, fixed in a hose 58 extendingfrom the rear wall of the frame, the pinion 56 being fixed to the sideof a disc 59 having a series of peripheral notches 60, agreeing innumber to the notches of the carrier 48 and being receptive of a pin 61fixed in the side of a disc 62 rigid on the shaft 30.

Carried by the front portion of the bracket 42 is a delivery chute 63leading outwardly of the machine and a feed or supply chute 64, carriedby a support 65 is bolted at its foot 66 to the frame element 41 at therear of-the machine, the feed chute'64 delivering nuts directly to thenotches of the carrier. one at a time, progressively by gravity and fromthe foregoing description it will be clear that the carrier is rotatedinterm-jit tently to bring an empty notch or pocket into receivingposition at each full revolution of the gear train.

Mounted on the raised elements 70 and 71 of the frame 15 at its righthand end and central thereof, is a cap plate 72having a raised centrallongitudinal portion 73 recessed from its lower side to produce aslideway 74 of rectangular cross section to which is fitted a plunger orram 75.

Said ram contains an axial bore 76 enlarged at 77 at its inner end andalso at its oute end as at 78; this latter counterbore beingscrew-threaded at its open end 79.

A head 80 is formed with a conical depression 81 at its outer andadapted to engage the end of a nut to be cracked and the op osite end isextended into a shank 82.

n axial opening 83 through the head and shank, in register with the bore76, receives a rod 84 to which is secured a collar 85 normally heldagainst the bottom or inner end of the counterbore '78 .by a coiledcompression spri ng 86 encircling the rod within the counterbore andheld in compression by a hollow plug 87 fitting the opening 78. Anadjusting nut 88 is threaded, to the end of rod 84, the same'impin ingagainst the head 89 of the plug 87, there y affording means for movingthe rod so that its opposite to the end of the head 80, 1t preferablybein in vertical registe with the same.

t is to be understood that the axis of the rod 84 is substantially in a.plane central with the nuts as engaged by. the carrier 48- and that thehead 80 and plunger 75 clear the gear 51 and othe associated parts asthey are moved 'reciprocativel at timed intervals by means of rack teet90 formed onthe lower side of the rectangular plunger 75, the teethbeing in engagement with the gea segment 40 operated b the lever, rolland cam device previously escribed.

On the opposite end of the frame is bolted another cap late 92, having araised central ortion 93 similar to the corresponding element 73andwhich, like it, may be made in two parts for convenience in machiningif preferred and thereafter bolted together.

A pair of upri hts 94 are raised from the element 93 held together withbolts as shown and have between them a narrow vertical slideway 95formed with transverse recesses 96, said slideway and recesses servingto scribed.

The element 93 contains a rectangular opening 97 in which operates aplunger 98, hereinafter referred to as an anvil, and which is inalinement with the plunger 75.

The plunger 98is bored at its inner end to receive the shank 82' of ahead 80' containing a conic recess 81 at its projecting end,

these heads being so held as to interchange with others havingdifferently. formed recesses to engage with variant kinds of nuts.

Formed vertically through the anvil 98 is a slot 99, its rear edge beingat a right angle and its front edge 99' at an angle of approximatelyeighteen degrees thereto.

The vertical slide 100 is essentially a flat plate fitting the slideway95 and having ribs 101 suited to the recesses 96, said ribs beingdimensioned to freely pass through the anvil slot 99 into which thelower end of the slide extends.

The opposite edge 102 of the. slide is formed at an angle correspondingto the angular surface 99' of the anvil, and adjacently parallel to thewedge-shaped edge 102, a slot 103 is formed in the plate, this slotengaging a block 104 pivoted on a pin 105 in the slot 99 of the anvil asbest see in Figure 1. I I

Set transversely in the up er end of the slide 100 is a bar 106 extening uniformly inner end may be ad'usted relatively' guide a, slide asfurther on de- III at both sides and-engaged at the ends of the bar are"coiled tension springs 107. their lower ends being attached to rigidpms 108 extending inward] from the sides of the frame as seen in F1 re3.

This view also illustrates the cam wedge slide, asin the .act of raisinthe :same, Figure 1 showing it at its highest oint, and it will beapparent that upon urthermovement of the cam in the direction of thearrow the wedge slide Wlll descend by gravity, accelerated by thetension of the springs 107 and force the anvil 98 forward, the samebeing returned by the rise of the cam as transmitted by the slide andblock 104 actuated by it.

It will also be apparentthat the ram or plunger 75 and its associatedparts will be coincidentally actuated by the intervening gear train, camand lever devices beforedescribed.

As there is considerable variation in the length of the nuts to becracked it is important that the carrier support be substantiallycentered with respect to each individual nut and also that the opposingplungers, that is the anvil and ram, be automatically adjusted inaccordance.

To accomplish the finst purpose the support or carrier 48, as has beenseen, is shdably mounted on its spindle 46 and held normally in oneposition bythe sprin 49.

An arm 110 is attached to the hea extending downward and in advanceofthe same, the arm being suited to pass through the slot 50 in thebracket supporting the carrier and adapted to make direct contact withit, thus shifting the carrier and nut lengthwise of the machine apredetermined distance in advance of the head, this dis tancecorresponding to half the averagev h of the nut.

, ile this device may not be absolutely accurate, good results areinvariably attained, far superior to having the carrier permanentlylocated.

Variation in the forward movement or thrust of the anvil, and hencelimitation of the \cracking operation, is automatically and accuratelyattained by the length of each individual nut, which is made part of thedevice for controlling the forward movement of the anvil.

While the anvil is uniformly retracted by the cam, slide and blockdevice, its forward movement depends entirely on the downward movementof the slide and due len to the angle of the surface102, a slight im-"pedance to the free forward movement .of

the anvil arrests the further descent of thea same remaining stationar25- as making contact with the lower end of the the carrie; and makecontact with the head 80', acting-as an obstruction and preventing.

further forward movement of the anvil, the

ments with considerable detail and with re-c spect to certain particularforms of my vention, I do not desire to be limited to such details sincemany chan es and modifications may well be made wlthout departing fromthe spirit and scope of my invention in its broadest aspect.

Having thus described my what I claim as new and desire by LettersPatent, is

1. .A nut cracking machine comprisin nut supporting means, an anvil'anda ram pilinger operab e in the plane of the supported nut at oppositeends thereof, means for reciprocating said ram, a slide havingan angularedge movable transversely in said anvil, resilient means for actuatingsaid slide in one direction, a cam directly retracting said slide, saidslide having an invention, to secure and positively,

oblique slot parallel with its angular edge, l and a block carried bysaid anvil engaging the slot in said anvil to retract the same.

2. A nut cracking machine comprising nut supporting means, an anvil anda ram plunger operab e in the plane of the sup orted nut at oppositeends thereof, means ,or reciprocating said ram, a slide having anangular edge movable transversely through said anvil, resilient meansfor actuating :said slide in one direction, a cam operatively engagingsaid slide to move it in an o posite direction, means for guiding saidslide in a plane parallel with its straight edge said slide having aslot parallel with its angular edge, and means operative in thementioned slot for projecting and retracting said anvil. 3. A nutcracking machine comprising nut supporting means, an anvil and a ramplunger operable in the lane of the supported nut at opposite ends tereof, means for'reciproeating said ram, a slide having an angular edgemovable transversely in saidanvil, resihenrt means for actuating saidslide in one direction a guide for said slide confining it to movementin a vertical plane, and a cam for retracting said slide, saidslidedirectly engaging an moving said anvil and acting asan abutmenttherefor. 4. A- nut cracking machine comprising nut supporting means, ananvil and a ram plunger operable in the at opposite ends t ereof, meansor reciproment therefor guides engagm eating said ram, a slide having ana lar edge movable transversely in said anvi and longitudinal ribs 0n1t8 opposite, straight edge, resilent meansfor actuatmg saidish'de inone direction, a cam for moving said slide said nut supporting meanslaterally, means for uniformly retracting said anvil, means foradvancing said anvil, said advancing means being subject to cessation atany point, means for uniformly reciprocatin said ram, a spring impelledrod dispo axially within said ram adapted to engage a nut in advance ofthe ram and press it against said, anvil preventing its further advance,and means for adjusting the pressure oncsaid rod.

6. A nut cracking machine comprising rotatable and slidable nut suporting means controlled by the length of t e nut, an anvil and a ramplunger and means for adjusting said supporting means substantiallycentral between said anvil and ram when said elements are approachingeach other. a

7. A'nut crackin machine comprising rotatable and lateralfy yieldablenut supporting means, an anvil and a. ramplunger means for uniformlyactuating said ram. and

means for automatically diflerentially actuating paid. in.accordance-with the length of the nut.

8. A nut crackin machine-comprising a rotatable and latera ly yieldablenut carrier, an anvil and a ram lunger means for uniformly actuatingram, meansfor aduating said anvildifierentially said means beingautomatic and controlled by the length of the nut, means for actuatingsaid carrier intermittently with relation to the movement of said plunrs, and in-means for shifting said carrier aterally in accordance withthe length of the nut.

9. A nut cracking machine'comprising a frame, a r train therein, ananvil movable in sai frame, a slidable ramopposed to said anvil, meansfor feedin nuts consecutively between said anvil an ram, a singletransverse slide paming through and actuating said anvil, a cam directlyengaging said slide below the anvil and a cam operated lever foractuatin said ram, both of said cams being driven y said gear train.

10. A nut cracking-machine comprisin a frame, a rotary carrier. therein,means or intermittently actuating said carrier, means for moving saidcarrier laterally to correspond with the center of the nut therein, amovable anvil, a reciprocating ram means for actuating said ,anvildifferentially, said means bein automatic and controlled by the len h oft e nut and adjustable means in sai ram controlling the movement of saidanvil.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

CHESTER S. LEONARD.

